Time for another layer cake! Not quite 14 layers like my no-bake s’mores cake or Smith Island cake, but just as fabulous as both. If you’re a lemon dessert lover like I am, meet our crowning glory.
This lemon layer cake recipe is adapted from the most popular cake recipe on our website: lemon blueberry cake. Lemon blueberry cake has consistently been in our top 10 recipes. It’s moist, sweet, buttery, and loaded with fresh lemon. Since its publish date, we’ve received many questions about leaving out the blueberries to make it plain. We decided a plain lemon cake needed its own separate blog post. Enveloped with lemon cream cheese buttercream and garnished with whipped cream, this towering beauty stands up to its blueberry studded sister!
Behind the Recipe
Besides the flavor and texture, this cake is loved is because of its ease. Very basic ingredients including a base of creamed butter + sugar, eggs, lemon, milk, and flour. We left out the brown sugar and replaced with more granulated sugar. No rhyme or reason here—just didn’t feel like reaching for both types of sugar this time. Between the cake and frosting, you’ll need 2-3 lemons. Both the juice and zest.
Let’s chat about the flour for a second.
The key to this recipe is using sifted all-purpose flour. Sifting the flour aerates it, creating an overall fluffier cake. Just like we found in our 6-inch citrus cake, cake flour is too light for this lemon cake; our cakes were squat and flimsy. All-purpose flour is great, sifted all-purpose flour is much better. Sift flour in a large bowl, then measure 3 cups. Whenever the word “sifted” comes before an ingredient, that means you sift before measuring. (Alternatively, if the word “sifted” comes after an ingredient, sift after measuring.) Here’s our set of sifters. Love them. We’re using the medium one in this photo.
The lemon cake batter is velvety and thick. Divide evenly between three 8-inch round cake pans. For a 2-layer cake, divide batter evenly between two 9-inch cake pans. Bake time will be longer, but you can use a toothpick to test for doneness. This lemon cake batter will fit into a 9×13-inch pan. Bake time will be close to 40 minutes. And while we’re on the subject of different size cakes, this recipe yields at least 30 lemon cupcakes. For 1 dozen cupcakes, here is our lemon cupcakes recipe. They taste identical to the cake!
Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
We were torn between cream cheese frosting and lemon buttercream, so we combined the two by adding 8 ounces of cream cheese and a little extra confectioners’ sugar to lemon buttercream. The result is an infinitely CREAMY and BUTTERY lemon cream cheese frosting that we know you’ll love!!! Look at this stuff!!! Glides on effortlessly.
The raspberry frosting from my lemon raspberry jam cupcakes would also be fantastic here.
Optional Garnishes!
- Homemade whipped cream (I used Wilton 8B piping tip)
- Food-safe or edible flowers
- Lemon slices
- Fresh berries
- Fresh herbs
- Candied citrus
You could also add a filling between the layers: this raspberry cake filling would be delicious!
The cake stand you see in my pictures is the brand Juliska. I can’t find it anywhere online anymore! Here is a similar one.
Others I love:
- Wood slice cake stand
- Stoneware white cake stand
- Marble & wood cake stand
- Glenna cake stand
- Glass covered cake stand
If you love lemon cake, you’ll adore my lemon bars and lemon meringue pie! Be sure to check out our other favorites in the The Lemon Dessert Collection!
Print
Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Buttercream
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This 3-layer lemon layer cake is made completely from scratch with real lemons. It’s deliciously moist and light and is remarkable paired with tangy cream cheese buttercream.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (354g) sifted all-purpose flour* (spooned & leveled)
- 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 and 3/4 cups (350g) granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 heaping Tablespoon lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- 1/3 cup (80ml) fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp; 226g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature*
- 4 and 1/2 cups (540g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease three 8-inch cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract on high speed until combined, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients just until combined. With the mixer still running on low, add the milk, lemon zest, and lemon juice and mix just until combined. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Bake for around 21–26 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Make the frosting: In a large bowl using a hand-held mixer or stand mixer fitted with a whisk or paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the cream cheese and beat until completely smooth and combined. Add confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin, more lemon juice if frosting is too thick, or add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet. (I always add a pinch of salt!)
- Assemble and decorate: Using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with about 1 cup of frosting. Top with 2nd cake layer and evenly cover the top with about 1 cup of frosting. Top with the third cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. I like to top mine with homemade whipped cream (I used Wilton 8B piping tip).
- Refrigerate for at least 30–45 minutes before slicing. This helps the cake hold its shape when cutting.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: The cake layers can be baked, cooled, and covered tightly at room temperature overnight. Likewise, the frosting can be prepared then covered and refrigerated overnight. Let the frosting sit at room temperature to slightly soften for 10 minutes before assembling and frosting. Frosted cake or unfrosted cake layers can be frozen up to 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature before decorating/serving. See How to Freeze Cakes for more information, and a helpful video tutorial.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Cake Pans | Glass Mixing Bowl | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer | Cake Turntable | Icing Spatula | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) | Wilton 8B Piping Tip | Cake Carrier (for storage)
- Flour: Sift all-purpose flour before measuring.
- Whole Milk: You can use lower-fat or nondairy milks in a pinch, but the cake won’t taste nearly as rich and moist.
- Recipe updated in 2022: The amount of leaveners are now 2 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. (Increased from 2 teaspoons and 1/4 teaspoon, respectively.) The amounts listed above amount help provide extra rise, which creates a lighter cake. I also now recommend whole milk instead of buttermilk, so the cake batter is slightly less acidic.
- Vanilla Cream Cheese Buttercream: For a vanilla cream cheese buttercream, replace lemon juice with milk or heavy cream in the frosting. Add an additional 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract.
- 2-Layer Cake: For a 2-layer cake, divide batter evenly between two 9-inch cake pans. Bake time will be longer; use a toothpick to test for doneness.
- Lemon Cupcakes: This recipe yields about 30 lemon cupcakes. Bake for 18–22 minutes. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. For 1 dozen cupcakes, here is my lemon cupcakes recipe. They taste identical to the cake!
- 9×13-inch Cake: This batter will fit into a 9×13-inch pan. Fill 2/3 full. If there’s extra batter, you can make a few cupcakes. Bake time will be around 40 minutes; use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Best cake I’ve ever made!!!! It’s fantastic and beautiful. Couldn’t be happier with how this turned out! Thank you!
I made this for a birthday party and it came out great! The lemon flavor was definitely present but subtle, making it nice for lemon lovers and non-lemon lovers alike. The consistency of the cake was good – on the denser side but not dry – and the frosting was light and fluffy. I followed the more specific mixing instructions on the Blueberry Lemon cake on this site and barely mixed the batter til combined once I added the last set of wet and dry ingredients, and my batter was very thick. I added one layer of lemon curd and wish I had added two layers, as the tartness of the curd really offset the sweetness and flavor of the cake and frosting nicely.
So Good! Made this with double recipe for a large party. Everyone loved it. So moist. It turned out beautifully.
Hi, I’m wanting to make this cake but I only have 8in pans. I was thinking of using the rest of the batte to make a few cupcakes. How much do I measure up to in each pan to make them not overflow? Thanks!
Hi Rowena, fill your pans about half way full, and that will ensure they do not overflow as they rise. Using the extra batter on the side is great! You can fill the cupcake cavities about 2/3 way full.
We had a small gathering, so I scaled the recipe down and made two layers. It was delicious. The cake is light and buttery, and that lemon cream cheese frosting is to die for!
Made this for a birthday, followed the recipe except for adding some lemon curd between the layers. It turned out so good. I used 2 9-1/2 inch pans since I didn’t have the 8-inch ones, so the baking time was longer as expected. The cake was so moist that even with the thicher layers, the icing-cake ratio was very good. I would definitely make this one again, maybe adding the layer of fruit filling suggested.
My granddaughter has requested a lemon cake for her birthday. I’ve had such good luck with your recipes that I want to try this cake. She also wants a coconut-covered cake. Should I do revise the icing in any way? Or just cover it with coconut after icing the cake? Thank You!
Hi Lynne, you can simply press the coconut on like we do for our coconut cake! You may be interested in our lemon coconut cake recipe, too.
This is my go to lemon cake!
Bit of an odd question, can I use this recipe and omit lemon for a “normal” vanilla sponge? Or is the lemon acting like an acidic agent relevant to the recipe?
Thanks for helping!
Hi Veronica! It would be best to use a cake that was specifically formulated as a vanilla layer cake. You’ll love our favorite vanilla cake instead! So glad you’ve been enjoying this lemon version.
Have been using your recipes for a few years now. I am not a baker but now my family considers me the official cake maker for every bday thanks to you!. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing recipes.
Thank you so much for making and trusting our recipes!
This sounds wonderful! I’ve been looking for a lemon cake on your website that I saw. You mentioned it would be good with a raspberry filling in between the layers. I can’t find it, and I don’t think I’m imagining it. Can you help me out?
Hi Carole, You can use this raspberry filling. Skip straining it for a thicker sauce between the layers of a cake. Enjoy!
This cake was fantastic!!! I will definitely make it again! I discovered Sally’s recipes a while ago and I have not been disappointed. They have all been really good!!
Have you had any luck making this with gluten free flour? Like King Arthur’s “measure for measure flour”
Hi Casey, we haven’t tested it ourselves, so we’re unsure of the results. Let us know if you do give it a try.
Is this enough batter for two eight inch cake pans, one six inch, and one four?
Hi Barbara, our cake pan sizes and conversions guide will be helpful for scaling this batter for your needs.
I made it today for my husband’s birthday! Wonderful recipe!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe, Brenna – and happy birthday to your husband!
Are there any adjustments I need to make for altitude over 6,000 ft?
Hi Brenna, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
I made this recipe last year for my daughters birthday and she LOVED it! It was such a success she’s asked
to have it again but a funfetti version, is it just a case of adding in sprinkles to the mixture? Thanks!!
Hi Sophie, definitely! You can add up to 3/4 cup (142g) sprinkles.
I’m hoping to make this as a birthday cake but it will need to travel with me for about 2 hours. Worries that the whipped cream won’t hold for that time. Any suggestions? Thank you.
Hi Natasha! You could top with whipped cream when you arrive, or skip that garnish. Hope it’s a hit!
I tried this cake twice and both times were disappointing. Too fragile for a layer cake. Fell apart both times trying to stack the layers. The flavor is ok … but not impressed. Time to move on!!
This was our Christmas dessert. It came out nicely, I wanted it to be more lemony so I used pure lemon extract instead of vanilla and boy oh boy it was just heaven. Just right for Christmas. One question, although the cake was delicious I feel that it was a bit dense not much it just wasn’t as fluffy as I had hoped I measured all the ingredients prior to starting I even purchased a food scale to be percise. Could it have been that I left the butter out too long because that I did. Please help me figure this out. I really really want to make this cake again.
Signed: I think I found my passion-BAKING
Hi Toni, we’re so glad you enjoyed this cake recipe! If the cake was overly dense, it could be that it was over mixed a bit — this post on how to prevent dry and dense cakes should be a helpful resource. Thank you again for trying this recipe!
SO delicious and super fluffy. Really blown away by this recipe. I followed the directions exactly. I use 4” rounds and 35 minutes was the right cooking time for those.
My daughter is dying for an orange frosting. Would I convert the cream cheese one to orange instead of lemon? She wants it with a lemon cake!
Hi Ashley, that should work just fine! Swap the lemon juice with fresh orange juice, and you could even add some orange zest for added flavor. Let us know how it goes!
Hi! I was wondering if I’d need to adjust the sugar content or leavening if I substituted orange juice and zest for the lemon? I know the pH is different so I wasn’t sure if that would affect the reaction with the baking soda enough to cause a disaster.
Hi Nora, We have not tested this cake with oranges. You can certainly try it, but they are sweeter and adjusting the sugar would take some recipe testing. You can also try our Glazed Orange Bundt Cake instead.
Hi, I want to make this cake, but was wondering if I could add poppyseeds to make it a lemon poppyseed cake. Will it change the texture at all (or will they sink in the batter)?
Hi Sarah, Feel free to add 1 Tablespoon of poppy seeds to the dry ingredients. That’s usually plenty, but feel free to add a little more if you think the batter needs it. No need to adjust anything else.
The overall taste was great, but my layers turned out dense, almost like a pound cake. It was moist, but not loose-crumbly like the one shown in the picture. I sifted and used the metric weights for all of my ingredients. What might I have done “wrong?”
Thanks for any help!
Hi Kelly, overly dense cakes are usually the result of over mixing — you’ll want to mix the batter until it’s just incorporated. This post on how to prevent dry and dense cakes may be a helpful resource to review. Thank you for giving this cake a try!
This is a truly excellent and decadent lemon cake! I’ve made it 3 times now — twice for birthdays and once in cupcake form for a friend’s wedding — and the feedback I’ve gotten from the many delighted people who tasted it, myself included, is “WOW, that’s amazing.” Given the somewhat generous amount of (delicious) butter in this, I’ve made this my go-to special occasion cake. It looks beautiful topped with gold sugar crystals and raspberries/blackberries, and I’ve had great success freezing well wrapped individual slices (in case you want to spread out the indulgence). Fabulous recipe!
I love lemon curd and was wondering if you think adding it as a layer would be a good idea or too much?
Hi Alison! A layer of lemon curd would be delicious in this cake!
The last lemon layer cake recipe you will ever need! I made this for my friend’s birthday and everyone raved about it and asked for the recipe. The only thing I did differently was brush on some lemon simple syrup to the layers before icing them. My daughter has requested a marble cake for her 17th birthday this week and Sally’s version is the one I’ll be using. I haven’t tried it yet but I am sure it’s going to be a hit!
Made lemon cake with lemon cream cheese frosting. I made single layer cake and small loaf . Taste great perfect amount of lemon. Tomorrow I will give some away
I made this last week and it was fantastic! Not a delicate dessert, it’s a lemon punch in the mouth which is what I wanted! I did add a bit extra lemon juice, and added lemon zest to the frosting. Awesome cake, everyone loved it. My sister loved it so much she has demanded that I make it again!
I made this cake twice, once as a practice for a wedding cake and then for the actual wedding cake. It rose well and it has a very nice moist fluffy texture, but sturdy enough for layers. My disappointment the first time was that cake itself doesn’t taste very lemony. I read another person added more zest and juice to up the flavour and I added an extra tablespoon of zest and it seemed to add a bit more flavour (although honestly i only had a tiny piece at the wedding so can’t say for sure). I had thought to add extract, but I thought it could be over powering and as I didn’t have time to experiment I decided that it was better that it was weaker on the taste. I made a lemon buttercream frosting so the lemon flavour from the frosting was sufficient. I also ripped apart raspberries and made a layer of raspberries on top of the buttercream in each layer, which worked very nicely. My last note is this was that although I oiled and put parchment circles on the bottom it stuck to the sides. By the time i was on the 5th and 6th layer I made sure to very meticulously separate the sides from the pan,. I’ve only been making vegan cakes for a long time so it could be that egg makes the cake stick more…? Also this is the buttercream recipe that I used. I used dairy butter and it was very delicious as a frosting. I will definitely save this for any future non vegan events because it really is good.
https://www.noracooks.com/vegan-lemon-cake/